~ A Compendium of Unhelpful Self-Help

Tag Archives: 1893

Editor’s Note: I’ll just note that a) this was under the section of artificial drinks (is it the ice?), and b) I’ve yet to come across a liquid that Dr. Blaisdell says you can drink.

How often do we see people, over-heated and over-tired, drink glass after glass of ice-water! Such a foolish habit often leads to serious results. Ice-water quenches thirst for a moment only. Sooner or later, it weakens the strongest stomach. If you must drink it, sip a little very slowly.

Editor’s Note: It is fascinating to read these temperance texts after having seen Prohibition.

Beer no Preventive of Drunkenness: It has been urged that a more general use of beer would prevent the drunkenness caused by drinking the liquors that contain more alcohol, such as rum, whiskey, brandy, and gin. We have only to look to the countries where beer is used in nearly every family, to see that it is no preventive of drunkenness. True to its nature, the alcohol in the beer makes the drinker crave more beer to get more alcohol. In Germany, Belgium, and other countries where beer is almost a universal beverage, drunkenness is becoming more and more a curse to the land. What is lacking in quantity of alcohol in the beer is made up by the quantity of beer drank.

Strong tea should never be used in large quantities. Hard-working women and others too often make their meals of dry toast and several cups of strong tea. Such a habit is sure to result in indigestion. Taken in large quantities tea may weaken the action of the heart, and produce the peculiar beating, which sometimes occurs after much exertion, and is known as palpitation; hence we have the “tea-drinker’s heart.” Coffee and tea are hurtful articles of diet for growing boys and girls, and doubtless all would be in better health without these beverages.

Editor’s note: We here at Obsolessons know that many of you are preparing your homes for the holiday season. In that spirit, we offer you this tip that is sure to add a touch of class to your home and celebrations.

Editor’s second note, just in case: Please don’t actually try to gild a fish. This is offered for entertainment purposes only. We don’t actually believe the last sentence of this paragraph.

To Gild Live Fish — Smear the inside of an earthen bowl with white pitch, warm it gently, and scatter pulverized amber over the pitch. Remove from the fire, add 3 pounds of oleum lini and 1 pound of oleum terebinth mixed together. Cover and boil for 1 hour with gentle eat. Mix with pumice stone to the consistency of paint. Take a live fish from the water, dry it by means of a cloth, and apply this paint with a brush. Immediately spread gold leaf over it and rub dry with a soft cloth. Return the fish to the water. The longer this varnish is under water the harder it grows, and it does the fish no harm.

It is an error to suppose that because grapes are good, a drink made by fermenting their juice is also good. We have learned that fermentation changes the nature of the substance fermented. Vinous fermentation changes healthful grape-juice into poisonous wine by changing its sugar, which is a food, into alcohol, which is a poison.

To keep our persons neat and clean, we must change our clothes often. This applies not only to garments used for daily wear, but to bed-clothes and night clothes. No one should sleep in the clothes he wears during the day. Undergarments should be frequently and regularly changed. Bed-clothes should be exposed freely to the light and air.

Beer gives a False Appearance of Health. — A stout, healthy-looking brewer’s drayman boasted that he had drunk a gallon of beer every day for the last thirty years, and that he was never in better health than at that moment. The next day he died of apoplexy.